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Tae kwon do VR simulator to train UK Olympians

By Paul Marks

Can’t hurt a virtual sparring partner

(Image: Hannah Johnston/Getty)

A VIRTUAL reality tae kwon do simulator could help the UK Olympic team train with minimal risk of injury. Aerospace firm BAE Systems of Warton, UK, is developing the simulator to help with preparations for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Using depth-camera-based motion sensors and eye-gaze trackers, the simulator will pit the fighter against a virtual opponent that reacts realistically to every attack and parry. It will do this, says project leader Kelvin Davies, by drawing on the firm’s experience designing battleship and combat flight simulators, which use predictive algorithms to produce smart adversaries.

Davies’s team is considering three types of display for the simulator&colon; a VR headset, a single-screen projected display, or a full holodeck in which the user is surrounded by projected imagery.

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Because the fighter’s movements will be captured in minute detail, the system will also allow for post-training analysis.

The simulator is part of BAE’s broader involvement with the national organisation UK Sport, to aid the country’s top athletes. The firm has also designed faster carbon-fibre wheelchairs for Paralympians, and skeleton sleds.

This article appeared in print under the headline “Virtual sparring partner will get Olympians ready”